With 32 levels of electronic resistance, the CardioStep's resistance can be adjusted with a touch of a button. The CardioStep has a low starting resistance and manageable increments allowing users to gradually increase resistance.
CardioStep is the ONLY brand of Recumbent Cross Trainers in its class that is both CE safety certified and registered with the FDA as class one medical devices.
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I agree that you can get a good workout on the elliptical if you do it right! If I don’t want to be on the elliptical I tend to take it easy and not put enough effort into my workout. Those workouts looks like great options for maintaining fitness while injured!
Thank you! I agree, it’s so easy to just take it at a leisurely pace on the elliptical when I don’t want to be there as well. Although having a workout makes the time go by faster!
thanks for sharing my elliptical post 😉 I appreciate you researching the studies on the elliptical machine and definitely feel that you can get a great workout on the elliptical machine so long as you use it to get a great workout! some people use it as a pass to just pedal along and that’s not how to use it. gotta push ourselves, you know? I never pay attention though to my speed or the numbers in comparison to running like you say, it’s not exactly the same as running. rather, I just push myself to get a good effort workout in – that’s what matters to me when I am using it. I am glad your foot is doing better! and I am glad that throughout the foot issue, you were able to still cross train.
Thank you for that helpful post! You really do have to put in the effort – it’s literally just spinning wheels if you pedal leisurely along! Thank you and I’m glad I was to – definitely kept routine feeling normal!
This is an AWESOME explanation and look at the elliptical. I think my caveat is that even with as much as you can maintain on the elliptical, like with the treadmill, you can’t just go back to running the same amount on roads. You will need to transition back to roads as well to allow your muscles time to transition and start firing appropriately again.
Thank you!! Oooh yes, I do think that caveat is important! Even after just a couple weeks on the elliptical I noticed it took a couple runs to feel normal on the roads again – and that was with short runs!
This is awesome. I have an elliptical but I don’t use it often, pinned for later just in case I get injured anytime soon and actually have to use it 😛
This is an amazing resource! I typically only go to the elliptical if I’m injured but I’ve never had a clue if it was similar to running or what type of workouts I should do. I’m hoping I won’t need this information for a while since I don’t want to be injured but definitely pinning it.
Great tips! My current favourite podcast is one called “Guys we F***ed” and although it sounds AWFUL, I swear it’s not. The girls are intelligent and respectful and the discussions and interviews on there are inspiring and enlightening. It’s not what one would assume from reading the title. They should really come up with a new one.
I used the elliptical coming back from my hip injury and it was perfect for lower impact. I only have access to one on weekends (my parents’ house has one haha) but in bad weather it’s my go to!
It is so nice to have the lower impact with the similar movement to running – the stationary/spin bikes just don’t feel the same. And it’s a great choice for bad weather!
For me the elliptical is an occasional necessary evil :-). It’s great when I’m injured, need to workout indoors, or just need a change, but I just find it sooooo boring. I always to some type of interval workout when I do use it, because that seems to make the time go faster (especially recovery!). Pinning your workout ideas for the next time I’m stuck indoors. Thanks for linking up!
Necessary evil is the perfect way to describe it! Although using it made me realize how valuable it is for adding volume without adding impact. Thank you for pinning and hosting!
I was stuck on the elliptical for a couple weeks when I trained for my first half marathon, and it was SO BORING. I think I tried reading, but I can’t even read while walking so I’m not sure why I thought that would work. Pretty sure I haven’t been on an elliptical since (fingers crossed).
It’s so hard to read on the elliptical! Podcasts are what have been getting me through because it is SO boring. Hopefully you don’t have to get on one anytime soon!
I don’t use the elliptical hardly at all at the gym but I think I would have to have a podcast to listen too. This is a great resource, I am trying new things so this may have given me incentive to jump on!
EllipticalJust stumbled upon this, as I am trying to re-strengthen into running shape after 5 marathons last year but a long winter break due to torn labrum. Wanting to get back to marathon shape/endurance to pull out a BQ before this fall’s registration, but not cleared to run again just yet…any thoughts on how to mimic HM/marathon training on elliptical, in order to transfer over to the road once cleared to run? Strengthening glutes/pelvic area via PT, and finding elliptical to not induce hip pain was a godsend…but don’t want to be ‘behind’ on fitness once I’m cleared. 🙂 Thanks for this!
Thanks for reading! I am sorry to hear about your labrum tear. You can use the elliptical for equivalent time and effort to mimic running workouts – for example, instead of an hour run, you can do an hour on the elliptical at the same intensity. The workouts in this post will help improve your threshold and VO2max (or at least maintain them) and you can do equivalent long runs on the elliptical…although those are more tedious but 90 minutes at a moderate intensity on the elliptical will give you a similar workout. Good luck!
I would not consider it part of weekly running mileage but it is important to factor cross-training time into your overall training plan (which includes running volume, cross-training volume, and strength training volume). For example, if you are running three days per week and using the elliptical three days per week, count the elliptical time as cross-training, not running mileage.
I just tried one for the first time, but even at level 1, my legs are moving really slowly. No where near 90. It says my mph is only 3.7. I’m very small. What am I doing wrong?
I’m dealing with an aching calf at the moment so no running for a few more days. I’m now doing the elliptical and the same effort as running BUT my heart rate is about 10 beats lower then a run- I wear a heart rate chest strap. Is that normal for heart rates on the elliptical to be lower then on the treadmill?
Good read and I discovered the elliptical when I was injured and getting ready to run Boston this year. I actually like the challenge of doing 2 hours. Consider using an Arc trainer vs the elliptical as it mimics running and puts far less pressure on your knees. PS I only had 3 weeks of running in my Boston block but still BQd by 13’. The elliptical definitely saved my race.
This isn’t a discussion about whether or not you should change your cadence - that’s it’s whole own discussion. Instead, the question is whether or not you should be trying to hit the 180 spm that you often see recommended. Is this really the ideal - or can runners have a wider range of cadence based on individual factors?
A tune-up race is a practice race - a race during the buildup to your goal race, not a goal race in itself. Generally, it’s shorter than your goal race. Curious about how to incorporate a tune-up race - and if you should even bother including one? Swipe through to learn more!
Reminder: zone 2 (on a five zone model) is NOT the only training zone! Whether you define your training zones by heart rate, pace, or perceived exertion, it’s important to remember that training in a variety of zones offers the most benefit to both health and performance.
The different training zones offer different physiological benefits. While you do get central and peripheral adaptations from any aerobic exercise (meaning that all intensities will improve how your heart and muscles respond to exercise), you get different benefits from different zones. Low-intensity (call it what you want: zone 2, easy running, etc.) spurs more changes to the peripheral aspects of endurance fitness: greater density of mitochondria, more capillaries carrying blood into your muscles, etc. Higher intensity intervals favorably increase cardiac output, as well as neuromuscular adaptations such as motor unit recruit.
When examining elite and sub-elite training practices, we repeatedly see that a variety of training intensities is favorable for performance. The percentage of intensities may change across seasons, and zone 2 is often the dominant intensity, but other intensities still have a key place in training.
Training for a marathon PR? There is a LOT of information out there on how to improve your marathon time - here’s what can actually help. I’ve been coaching for over 8 years and these are the principles I use when working with runners on a marathon PR:
Deliberately apply progressive overload. Don’t just add more mileage and bigger workouts haphazardly. Assess past training for weak areas and make deliberate progressions throughout. Throughout the present training block, assess training response and titrate both volume and intensity accordingly.
Have a high-carb fueling strategy that you know works. High-carb fueling improves performance in the marathon. The present recommendations are 60-90 grams of carbs per hour (roughly 2-3 gels per hour). Don’t wait to race day to try this though - practice throughout train to both train your gut and enhance training adaptations.
Go truly easy on your easy days. Let those days be easy enough that you can manage the training volume and the bigger, harder workouts that drive adaptation. More than likely, easy pace will be slower in marathon training.
Do marathon specific workouts. The closer you get to the race, the more your workouts should target the specific physiological and psychological demands of the race. You will likely progress to more time at marathon pace the closer you get at the race, with workouts likely totally 8-10 miles at MP in peak weeks.